He joined in 2011, assembled a cast, and left in early 2012. Now, in 2013, UNKNOWN and ORPHAN director Jaume Collet-Serra is once more in talks to helm Warner’s live action AKIRA. 

An adaptation of the classic anime, production on AKIRA has been up-and-down for quite some time. Nevertheless, if it is back on track, and if Warner’s plans to get it made in 2014 come to fruition this time (two big ifs there), Akira could be looking at a release in the already very busy 2015.

The cult anime, set in a dystopian Neo-Tokyo, tells the story of a young biker who discovers he has great psychic powers and his gang leader who must rescue him from the military who want to exploit this.

Garrett Hedlund, Helena Bonham Carter, Kristen Stewart, and Ken Watanabe were previously attached to star, but it’s unknown whether they’ll be back on board too.

What we do know is that Collet-Serra is going to have to get the budget under control – he’s now looking at $60 million compared to his previous $90 million. This may mean some compromises with regards to AKIRA’s vast cyber-punk take on Tokyo, but great films have been made for much less, right?

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